It was the late evening of 26th May 2008.
Brothers and sisters in Christ came to Changi Airport to send us off to China.
When they shook my hands with strength and wished me all the best, I was touched.
That was my fourth mission trip and it was the most discouraging one.
For the last three trips, we were confident and joyful in our preparation.
But this time, I heard four times of 'if you would like to dismiss from the trip,
you could do so'. When I decided to dismiss myself if I heard the fifth time,
that came four days before departure through hand phone message and I missed the message
until after the deadline. I had a hand phone but I usually did not switch on it.
My wife who experienced God's miracle when she went for a mission trip to Thailand
seventeen years ago. She kept quiet when she knew that I was discouraging.
My cheerful son just told me to go ahead with a cheerful mind and God would be
with me.
For the past nineteen years, I was very firm in my belief that I would go ahead with God's agenda.
Ten days before departure, I sent e-mails of prayer request my prayer partners in Norway,
Finland and Thailand. I also sent the request to the pastor of Bedok Lutheran Church to
get the church members to pray for me and my family.
On the day of departure, I called the pastor in Hong Kong to pray for me.
I tried very hard to find out the place we would be visiting on the internet.
I found 'Good News Gardens', 'Gospel Hospital', 'Pastor Ma' and I could not find any
information of 'Xue Wen'. I felt that 'Xue Wen' would be the person who would help
me out.
God answered my prayer. Other than the Christian friends, my non-Christian friends from
overseas and my classmates gave me a lot of blessings.
Chun Kit's parents were sending Chun Kit off at the airport. When Chun Kit's mother saw
me, she wished that I would take the seat next to Chun Kit. She knew me well.
When I was checking in at the counter, the staff told me to carry one hand-held luggage instead of
two. It was because I needed to have the transfer in Beijing and it would be easier for me
to have only one piece of hand-held luggage. I checked in the bag of biscuits which would be
given to the children in Zhoukou. I carried the other bag which I kept my travel documents and
a box of masks.
We took of in the early morning of 27th May.
After taking meal and a few hours rest, we arrived at Beijing in the morning.
I was here with lvkissinger three years ago. But we were at the new terminal
this time.
We went through the custom, claimed our luggage and checked in the luggage
to the next destination Zhengzhou. Then we went for our breakfast.
I bought two packages of Beijing products for the children
in Zhoukou.
We took another flight to Zhengzhou at noon. The custom checked our hand-held
luggage very thoroughly. The custom asked me to scan my luggage for the second time.
He hit on my luggage before it rolled into the scanner. He hit it hard and made the person
behind me cried out. I also felt very painfully as the box of masks cost me 600 RMB
and I hand-carried all the way from Singapore. It would be given to the organisation
doing the Sichuan rescue.
The custom might see from the screen that those are masks. He let me
pass with opening my luggage.
I tried to send messages to my Beijing friend Jin Yu and to my son in Singapore,
But the messages could not be sent. Then I called Jin Yu to let her know that
I arrived in China safely.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
It took one hour and twenty minutes for us to fly from
Beijing to Zhengzhou.
After passing through the custom, we saw friends from Zhoukou waiting for us.
There was a young lady and a young man. I presumed that the young man should
be 'Xue Wen'.
When we were at the car park, I looked at 'Xue Wen' carefully and was very surprised.
He looked like Peng Wei who went to New Zealand with me and took care of me very much
twenty-five years ago.
When we traveling in the bus, I observed him and found that his eyes,
the way he talked and the two front teeth.
It seemed that Peng Wei appeared right in front of me.
|
|